The opportunity to partner with the Kennett Library on a multipurpose municipal building that would have included a new library, a new administration building, and a new police station was a rare one. It offered advantages that no other project is likely to offer, such as the opportunity to share the design and construction costs for a building. Partnering with the library, another entity that serves the public, on a project also boosted the chances for state and county funding.

But now that the Kennett Library has opted to move forward with building a new library on its own, where does that leave the new borough administration building and police station?

Before the project with the library was proposed, the borough was not actively planning to build a new municipal building or police station, and now that it looks like that project has been set aside, there won't be an immediate effort to find a new home for the borough offices or the police department.

While the borough building and the current police station both have their shortcomings, council president Dan Maffei said that the borough won't be facing a pressing need to replace either one. The borough can undertake any renovations that are deemed necessary to continue to utilize the buildings. During a meeting about the project last month, borough officials said that it could cost about $300,000 over the course of three to five years to make improvements to the borough hall and police station.

By not spending the money on the new administration building or police station in the near future, the borough will have the opportunity to continue to pay down its debt, which could help when the time comes to purchase or construct a new borough building or police station.